Red West, Elvis Presley’s Boyhood Bestie And Longtime Co-Star, Dies: ‘Memphis Mafia’ Founding Member Was 81
Red West, childhood friend and frequent movie co-star of Elvis Presley, has died at age 81. West, who appeared in 18 of Elvis Presley’s movies, suffered an aortic aneurysm and died at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis just a few weeks before the 40th anniversary of The King’s death, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Red West was in Elvis Presley’s inner circle since high school and was a founding member of the singer’s “Memphis Mafia,” the group that had surrounded Elvis after his discharge from the Army in 1960. Red appeared in a long list of Elvis’s movies during the singer’s big screen heyday in the 1960s. In addition, West had roles in the Patrick Swayze hit Road House, as well as TV shows The Wild Wild West and Black Sheep Squadron, where he was a regular as Sgt. Andy Micklin.
